To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE
Despite Critics, Worship Leader Says IHOP's 24/7 Prayer Movement is Centered on ChristThe International House of Prayer has been called "unorthodox" (and worse) by The New York Times. Yet songwriter Jon Thurlow looks to the Bible to ground his worship.
Since September 1999, rotating teams at the International House of Prayer-Kansas City (IHOP-KC) in Missouri have continuously led a concert of prayer and worship. Under the leadership of Bible teacher Mike Bickle, the church welcomes visitors who come to pray at any time-day or night. The nondenominational ministry, which includes a church with Sunday services, has hundreds of full-time staff who work in shifts to keep 24/7 prayer going. IHOP-KC has its detractors, both in the media and in Christian circles. A New York Times article called the group "controversial, cultish and unorthodox." Last year, two religion scholars wrote a book claiming Bickle and other charismatic leaders interpret the Bible in "non-standard" ways. Songwriter Jon Thurlow has been around for most of the journey. After graduating from Nyack College in New York with a sacred music degree, he joined the IHOP-KC staff in 2004 as a worship leader. In an earlier interview, Thurlow spoke of he and his wife's adoption advocacy and his new album, Different Story. Now he shares broadly about the global prayer movement, along with insights into his new songs. The Purpose of 24/7 Praise The Stream: The concept of worship and prayer that goes 24 hours every day of the week is new even to many Christians. What does it look like on a daily basis? Jon Thurlow: The Bible tells us in Revelation that worship and prayer in Heaven never stops. It's always going. We believe God calls us to a live interaction with Him through the Holy Spirit. Really unique things happen in that live environment. I can explain a little of the structure of how we lead in the prayer room in Kansas City.
The other prayer format is called Worship with the Word. We incorporate what we call antiphonal singing of the Bible. "Antiphonal" is a fancy word for multiple voices and people singing. We sing Scriptures that we all engage with corporately. That's something we regularly, consistently do as part of our worship model. As part of the Body of Christ, we believe prayer plays a significant role in the missions movement. Before we all go in to lead worship, my team of a dozen singers and musicians gather together. We take 20 minutes before the set and talk about what Scripture passage we're going to sing. Or if it's intercession, we'll discuss what we're going to pray over the two hours... Click here to continue reading.
To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE
Other Recent Articles from Breaking Christian News Lauren Daigle Super Bowl Performance Feels Like 'Vindication' after Attack by New Orleans Mayor Google Becomes Latest US Company to Abandon DEI Goals Hungary's Viktor Orbán Follows Trump's Lead: Will Shutter Organizations Taking USAID Funding Common Sense Catching On: Argentina's Javier Milei Bans Transgender Drugs, Surgeries for Minors Promises Delivered: In Less Than 3 Weeks, President Trump Has Accomplished Most of What He Pledged Woke Bishop Who Attacked Trump Received $53 Million of Taxpayer Funds for Illegal 'Newcomers' White House Lays Out Policy Priorities for New Faith Office Detransitioner Embraces Jesus, Leaves Gender Chaos Behind: 'A Very Evil Agenda' [Video] New California Legislator Introduces Bill Promoting Adoption to Teens with Unplanned Pregnancies South Carolina Files Opening Brief With US Supreme Court for Permission to Defund Planned Parenthood FIVE Reasons to Defund 'Public' Broadcasting NCAA Responds to Trump's Executive Order to Protect Female Athletes KC Chiefs Owner's Wife Points to Prophecy that Tied Previous Super Bowl Win to 'End-Time Revival' Texas Abortions Drop to 0, Potentially Saving Thousands of Babies Per Month Search the Articles Archives |
All articles on this site and emails from BCN are copyrighted property of Breaking Christian News. Permission is given to link to, or share a BCN story if proper attribution is given to both the original writer and summarizer of the story. Breaking Christian News 2005-2019. All Rights Reserved.
Breaking Christian News is a division of Elijah List Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Disclaimer: Articles and links, as well as the source articles linked to; do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Breaking Christian News.
Home | Store | Subscribe | Facebook | Article Archive |